Bilge pump



Jan. 4, 1949.

A. R. PIERCE, JR

BILGE PUMP Filed Oct. 18, 1945 xNvENToR Hmmm d ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 4, 1949 l UNITED STAT E S f 0F FIC E BILGE PUlVIP Albert R. Pierce, Jr., South Dartmouth, Mass.,

Application October 18, 1945, Seri'aLNo. 623.2141

'i This inventionrelates-toaipumpforremoving x It isneeessary to` pump; out these boats with a.

handpump. orabailing` can prior .to` use. This practice takes time ,and in. someicases where heavy. rains occur for an; extended period, the boats areliable to` get so `low in the water that theywill ll andV capsize.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an arrangement sothat a boat of the above character.. will be kept practically dry at all times.f. Another object" of. this invention is to provide a continuously driven pump which may operate indemtely and should any water occur in the boat the same will be immediately removed. A `Another object of this invention is toprovide a pump which may be driven by the.y wind `which usually is present atsome part of the day, especially at the-.time'of rainfall, which will cause a sucient pumping action to remove any water whichzmay have accumulated in the boat during any period ofinaction of the pumpbecause of lack of wind. l

Another object of this invention isto provide an easily. drivenlpump by balancing gravitational load which may occur therein so. that the same maybe easily driven by the wind with a small propeller; f

Another object of this invention is to provide a pump which is suiciently simple so that it is not liable to get out of order...

Another object ofthisinventionis to provide a reciprocating head which will be guided in a casing which surrounds it.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel features. of construction, as will be more fully describedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

`In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View through a small boat illustrating my pump as positioned therein.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the pump.

Figure 3 is a section on a somewhat larger scale illustrating the casing at the upper end of the pump showing the reciprocating head therein.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view in exploded relation of the plunger of the pump.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View in exploded relation of the valve at the lower yend of the pump and a portion of the body.

. e Fig. 6-is a sectional view on line 6 6 of Fig; 5. Fig. 7 is a fragmentalsectional View illustrating the valve of the plunger in assembled relation and both assembled in the tubular body part of thev pump;

In proceeding-with this invention, I provide a tubular bodyof usualpiping which will be of a length su-iilcient toli'ft the coluinnlof water to the desired height for gravity discharge therefrom.

This tubular body mayvaryin length for difier-V ent usages to` which it may be placed. A valve is providedy at the lower end and a motor arrangementat the upper -end for reciprocating a piston in th'e'body for pumping watery ab ove the piston to such a height that it may run -by gravity from a conduit leading from the body. I spring load the lpiston andi operating parts so that their gravitational force or Weight plus the weight of the column of'water which is provided up tothe outlety will be balanced'- and the power which is necessary willl besmall so that it may be supplied by the--wind A windi responsive propeller is pro-1 vided on a shaft at the upper end which will be` easily driven `by the force ot the wind. This rotating action is translated into ra reciprocating movement byan eccentric;

With reference to'.Y the drawings, lill designates the hullof a small boat having a combing Il` i about. anopenl cockpit I2'. Water is shown at l3` which-"has aocumulatediin. the bilge of the boat. Thelbo'at isrprovided with a center board box i4. which housesaffcen-ter board to be lowered for use in sailing the boat. The pump which is shown installed in'v this boat vis designated generally l5 and is mounted by means of brackets E5 and' lil vfastened-to the center board box. These brackets are soarranged as to enable a tubular bodyr Mito be inserted in thesebrackets to support the same vertically as illustrated in Fig. 1. y

This tubular body I8; may be made of various constructions but is suitably formed from a brass pipe of the required length. The brass pipe is tted at its lower endl with a valve I9 which. has a tubularpartk 25. extending into the lower end of the pipe where it is held by a set screw' 2LI. This tubular part 20 is turned down from the larger piece of stock forming a shoulder 22 which engages with the end of the pipe. A bore 23 receives the ball valve 24 which engages the valve seat 25 at its lower end to control the smaller opening 26 which extends axially through the lower part of the valve. Cross-conduits 21 and 28 communicate with the vertical opening 26 and are of a size to so oontrolthe entrance into the piston.

'larger size to receive the valve seat member 36 which has a valve seat 31 so that the ball valve 38 may seat thereon to cause the piston to lift water which is above this valve 38 in the piston when the piston moves upwardly. Water may pass the valve on the downward stroke of the piston and pass out through the openings 39 in A recess 40 on the outer surface of the piston receives a piston ring or some soft packing 4I so as to provide a tight sliding fit for the piston along the inner surface of the tubular body.

At the upper end of the tubular body a casing 42 is provided which is usually cast in theform of a hollow body 43 closed by a cover plate 44 providing a hollow interior 45 for receiving the working parts. A b oss 46 is provided on the back wall of the casing through which a bearing opening extends. An oilless bushing 41 is provided in this opening. Closure plate 44 is also provided with a boss48 which has in it an oilless bushing 49. Both of these together provide spaced bearings for a shaft 50 which is rotatably mounted in this casing. A handle 5I is provided on one end of the shaft while a propeller hub 52 is provided on the other end of the shaft which has propeller blades 53 extending from the hubv and of a shape so that when placed in the wind the propeller will rotate and cause the shaft 50 to rotate. An eccentric 54 is provided on the shaft l5I] to rotate therewith. A head 55 shown in Fig. 3 has anV opening 56 to receive the eccentric 54 and is provided with a tongue 5l' to extend through an opening 58 in the ,upper wall of the` casing so as to be guided in its reciprocating movement. A member 59 isguided in the lower part 60 of the casing and this member is connected by means of a screw 6I having a slotted head to theeccentric so that both ends of the eccentric are vertically guided in the casing. This lower part 60 of the casing extends downwardly to provide a collar 62 which ts the upper end of the bodyY I8 so as to provide a good long bearing connection therewith. Connecting rod S3 is threaded at its opposite ends and one end is screwed into the piston 30. Thus, as the eccentric moves, the head 55 of the piston will also be moved reciprocatingly in the body'l.

An outlet 64 is provided at the proper level to conduct Water from the body I8. The height of this outlet will be such in the showing at Fig. 1 as to discharge the water into the center board box, where it is conducted overboard or out of the boat.

In order to balance gravitational forcev of the` reciprocated parts as well as the weight of the water in the body, I provide a spring 65 which acts between one end of member 59 and the abutment plug 66 which is secured in the tubular body I8 by prick punch impressions 61- which force portions of the body inwardly to engage this member 66. be varied by the different location `of the member 65 in the body or it may be varied by pulling out the coils of the spring so that'greater tension is provided. .The spring is adjusted to exert force in accordance with the weight of the parts and column of water as above the piston and approxmately balances these. This spring loading enables the vkpump to operate very easily, thus requiring very little wind force for rotation of the shaft which in turny causes reciprocating movement of the piston.

I claim:

1. A portable bilge pump comprising a tubular body of uniform diameter from its lowerxend upwardly throughout its length to its head, said lowerend beingadapted to be placed in the bilge of a boat, a piston reciprocably guided in said body having a valve therein, a casing at the'upper end of the body having a rotatably mounted shaftat rightv angles to the axis of the body, a'wind actuated propeller for rotating said shaft, an eccentric rotatable .with said shaft,

a head guided in said casing andreciprocated by saidl eccentric, and a rodconnecting said headto said piston,v a discharge 'openingifrom said body, a long spring surroundingv and loading the rod and parts moving therewithto counterbalance` the same in an amount to includethe Weight of the column" offwater in discharge opening.

2. A bilge pump as set forth in claim 1 wherein said head'has a' tongue extending through the casing to be guided by theedges of thevopening through which it extends. v 3. A bilge v'pump as'usei')` forth in claim 1 wherein a member for connecting said`V head to said rod is guidedin said casing. f K

4..A bilge pump asset forth in claim` 1 'wherein said head is guided in its straight line movement by guides von opposite sides of, said eccentric.

5. A bilge pump as set forth inl claim 1 wherein said head is'guided inits straight line movement byA guides onopposite-sides of said eccentric and the end of said guide is connected to said rod.

ALBERT R. PIERCE, JR. I

, Name Dater 1,097,890 Strout gMay 26, 1914 1,150,871 Mainwaring Aug. 24, 1915 -1,522,281

Weinman`f r Jan. 6, 1925 Tension onthis spring may the body up to said 

